Refrigeration



March 31, 1936. HALLOCK REFRIGERATION Filed May 28, 1932 3 Sheets-Sheetl l mnm,

H 0 H I M I v 3 M 5 k & N\ W /////y// AA ATTORNEY R. L. HALLOCKREFRIGERATION March 31, 1936.

5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed May 28, 1932 INVENTOR his ATTORNEY R. L. HALLOCK2,036,043

REFRIGERAT I ON arch 31, 1936.

Filed May 28, 1932 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 i j g j la Jig 37 INVENTOR ,J/i J QM/7/5 ATTORNEY Patented Mar. 31, 1936 I g UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICEREFRIGERATION Robert Lay Hallock, Mount Vernon, N. Y. Application May28, 1932, Serial No; 614,091 26 Claims. (01. 62-1085) My inventionrelates to refrigeration and. more I 7, reference character I designatesgenerally a. particularly to ice trays for freezing ice indorefrigerator. Within the refrigerating cabinet is mesticrefrigerators. an evaporator II having a number of horizontal Among theobjects of my invention are: To shelves I2 and a cover plate I3. Theform of the provide means for readily removing an ice tray evaporatorisnot important so far as the invention 5 from a supporting structuretherefor to which is concerned except so far as it provides longiit' maybe ,bound by ice; to provide, means for tudinal shelves for supportingthe ice trays. mechanically lifting ice cubes out of an ice-tray; .Fig..1 shows four ice trays I5, though any to provide a novel ice tray inwhich, by the apnumber may be present, eachice tray being inplicationofa very slight amount of force, the ice serted within its freezingcompartment and each 1 tray can, in one operation, be severed from itsresting on a shelf I2. Each ice tray comprises support and the ice cubesremoved; to provide... a tray body'lfi which is preferably manufactureda member to which the ice cubes cling on removal from sheet metal as bystamping operation. On from the ice tray body and from which the ice thefront of the tray body is a front cover plate cubes can be removedreadily by the fingers with- I1, which is bent to provide a handle I8 ofthe 15 out the application of heat; and the combining of type -in whichthe fingers are inserted upwardly. these features in one'unitary device.The front cover plate may be nickeled, porce-.

My invention is illustrated; by means of the lained, or otherwisefinished. The cover plate is accompanying drawings, forming part of thisattached to the tray body by means of screws or specification, and ofwhich: like devices I9. 20 Fig. 1 is afront view, with the door open, ofThe front part of the tray body has a downa refrigerating cabinetcontaining refrigerating wardly bent portion 20, which is bent backwardsapparatus embodying the invention; and provides a space for receiving adownward Fig. 2 is a longitudinal vertical section cenprojection 2| of adivision member or comparttrally through an ice tray embodying theinvenment forming member 22. The downwardly bent 25 tion and is taken onthe line 2-2 of Fig. 1; portion 20 is apertured at I23 to form' ajournal /Fig. 3 shows another position of the parts of forarotary memberI25 which also passes through Fig. 2 and is taken on the line 33 of Fig.1; a hole 26 in the handle I8. Holes I23 and 26 are Fig. 4 is a.transverse section taken on the line in aligmnent. Member I25 projectsforwardly 44 of Fig. 2; through hole 26 and has a finger pieceor lever30 Fig. 5 is a transverse section taken on the line member 21 attachedthereto in front of the handle 5--5 of Fig. 2; I8. This member 21 ispreferably shaped so that Fig. 6 is a transverse section taken on theline it can be rotated like a thumb-screw. The mem- 6-6 of Fig. 3; berI25 extends rearwardly through hole 26, then Fig. 7 is a horizontal viewshowing part'of the is bent eccentrically to one-side and extends lon-35 operating mechanism taken on the line 'I-! of gitudinally to adjacentthe depending portion 20,

Fig. 6; whence it is bent like a U as shown in Fig. 6, and Fig. 8 is aplan view of the device shown in returns to pass into the hole I23. Thusmember Fig. 2; I I25 is a rotary member having two eccentric pro- Fig. 9is a longitudinal vertical view similar to jections which extendlaterally in opposite direc- 0 Fig. 3 but showing a modified form ofmechtions. The U-shaped portion I25a extends to the anism; right, asshown in Fig. 6, when the finger piece 2! Fig. 10 is a view taken on theline IUI0 of is horizontal, whereas the-other eccentric branch Fig. 9;I25b extends to the left. On turning the finger Fig. 11 is a plan viewof another form of device piece 21 clockwise from the position shown inFig. 45 embodying the invention; 3 to the position shown in Fig. 2,looking toward Fig. 12 is a central longitudinal vertical view the frontof the tray, the part I25a moves downtaken on the line I2I2 of Fig. 11;ward and touches the shelf I2. The part I251) Fig. 13 is a transverseview taken on the line moves upwardly and touches the projection 2|.

I3-I 3 of Fig. 12; The part I25a. is of such length that it extends be-50 Fig. 14 is a transverse View taken on the line low the bottom of thetray when turned toward the I 4--I4 of Fig. 12; and position of Fig. 2,and consequently lifts the for- Fig. 15 is a transverse view taken onthe line ward end of the tray off the shelf, the whole tray I5I 5 ofFig. 12. pivoting about the rear lower end as a pivot. The

5 Referring more particularly to Figs. 1 through part I251) on beingswung around contacts the projection 2| and lifts the same, which causesthe division member 22 to be pivoted about the rear end of the tray atthe point 28, thus lifting the division member up from the tray body. Itwill be noted that the leverage multiplication is large so that a smallforce applied to member 21 will readily break any ice bond between theshelf and the ice tray and break the ice cubes loose from the interiorof the tray. The stresses work in opposition and the mechanism forcausing the relative movement of the parts is fixed in the tray body andthe handle.

There are three factors in removing ice cubes from an ice tray: Thefirst is the removal of the tray from the shelf; the second is theremoval of the ice cubes from the inside of the tray body; and the thirdis the removal of the ice cubes from the member which forms thecompartments. The usual way of breaking away an ice tray tightly boundto a tray by ice is to use a lever of some sort such as a screw-driver.The ice cubes are then removed from the tray and the grid by holding thetray under a water faucet. These steps are obviously undesirable. entireoperation of removal without heating, such as by applying hot or evenunheated water, and without the use of utensils, and with very littleforce, I have, in one form of my invention, provided transversepartitions forming part of the tray body whereby only a singlelongitudinal member is necessary and whereby the ice cubes leave thetray body attached to such central member and can be readily picked offwith the fingers. I have discovered that the easiest manner of removingthe ice is to shear it off gradually from the surface to which it isstuck. This is the reason for the shape of the transverse partitions 30shown in Fig. 2. The transverse partitions are formed by denting in thebottom of the tray body and making webs which extend the full height ofthe tray. In order to tie the parts together, I provide depressedportions 3| at the edges, and depressed portions 32 at the middle. Thesedepressed portions also serve to. distribute the water evenly throughoutthe tray. The front part of each web 30 may be perpendicular to thebottom of the tray body. The rear parts of these portions are struck onradii about the upper back edge of the tray, that is, the point 28 inFig. 2.

The central or division member 22 comprises a plate portion 23 havinglateral flanges 24 at the bottom extending out to some distance to formledges for holding the ice cubes. Extending along the upper part andspot-welded or otherwise secured thereto is a bar 25. This may be madeof a folded piece of metal. The bar 25 is spread at the front end toprovide means for securing the downwardly extending projection 2|thereto. It will be seen that the bar 25 is above the edge of the traybody. Inasmuch as the webs come up to the top so that the ice cubes willbe separated, and consequently the plate portlon23' is cut as high asthe tops of the webs, this reinforcing member is provided to givestiffening. The edge of the tray is laterally extended to provide a rimportion at the edges giving rigidity. This extension is shown at 33. Ifdesired, the edge portion may be bent downwardly at the outside to givestill further rigidity.

In the operation of the device. the finger piece 21 is turned. Theprojection i25a moves downwardly and contacts the shelf. This firstlifts the forward part of the tray. The tray is somewhat fiexible due inpart to being made of thin metal and in part to the constructionincluding In order to permit the the webs. Consequently, the forwardpart of the tray can be sheared from the shelf before the rear part issheared. This means that there can be a progressive loosening of thetray from the shelf from the front backwards. I have found that this iswhat actually happens and this results in the fact that very littleforce need be applied to sever the tray from the shelf. Likewise, thecentral member 22 is lifted by shear. The ice first breaks away at thefront and there is a gradual breaking away toward the back.

This also requires very little force because it is gradual. The centralmember 22 pivots about the rear top of the tray. The ice cubes adhere tothe central member on account of the flanges 24 and. due to the factthat the other parts are gradually sheared, whereas there is no suchgradual shear with respect to the central part 22. The ice cubes breakaway from the tray body clinging to the central member. The finger piece2'! may be turned back after loosening the cubes from the tray and thehand inserted under the handle l8 and the tray withdrawn. Then thecentral member 22 can be withdrawn with the ice cubes attached thereto,and it will be found that the ice cubes can be taken off the centralmember without any difficulty whatsoever.

In the embodiment shown in Fig. 9, the member i 25, instead of passingthrough the portion 20, is more or less pointed as at 40 and passes intoa. depression 4| in the tray body I6. This is a simple manner of makingthis construction and a relatively small indentation 4| will suffice tohold the member I25 and yet will not prevent the ice cubes from leavingthe tray.

In the embodiment shown in Figs. 11, 12, l3, l4 and 15, the shaft 42 tothe front end of which the finger piece 21 is attached has mountedthereon, or is formed integral with, an eccentric member 43. Theeccentric member comprises a forward portion and a smaller offseteccentric hub 44. A projection 45 passes through the downwardlyprojecting portion 20. The figures may be taken as drawn to full scale,wherefore it will be seen that the distance 46 between the center of theshaft 42 and the center of the eccentric portion 44 is very smallcompared with the length of the finger piece 21, whereby a tremendousleverage multiplication results. Surrounding the eccentric portion 44 isa ring member 41 which has a top projection 48 for engaging a forwardprojection 49 on the central division plate 22, and which has adownwardly projecting part 50 for engaging the shelf [2. The part 50 iscurved as shown in Fig. 12 and extends into a notch 5| in the frontpocket portion of the tray body, whereby there is a rearward projectionon part 50 which will contact the shelf, although the latter does notextend all the way to ,the front of the ice tray. On turning the fingerpiece 2] in a clockwise direction, as viewed in Fig. 14, the member 50is moved downward and lifts the tray from the shelf, thereby breakingany ice bond between the two. .Ihe finger piece 2'! is then turned inthe opposite direction and top projection 48 strikes forward projection49 and lifts central division plate 22. The ice cubes adhere to thedivision plate and are sheared from the tray body. Thus, the same resultis accomplished as in the device first described. In the tray body shownin Figs. 11 through 15 I have provided a deeper central space and haveprovided downwardly extending reinforcing side parts 56.

While I have shown and described several embodiments of my invention, itis to be understood that these are for purposes of illustration only andthat my invention is not to be limited thereby, but its scope is to bedetermined by the appended claims viewed in the light of the prior art.

What I claim is:

1. Apparatus for producing ice pieces including a tray body adapted tohold liquid having transverse corrugations extending from the bottom asubstantial distance toward the top and constituting transverse webs,and a removable longitudinal division member spanning said transversewebs and having separating pieces extending downwardly between saidwebs.

2. Apparatus for producing ice pieces including a tray body adapted tohold liquid having transverse corrugations extending from the bottom asubstantial distance toward the top and constituting transverse webs,said webs, being open at the sides, and a removable longitudinaldivision member spanning said transverse webs and having separatingpieces extending downwardly between said webs.

3. Apparatus for producing ice pieces including a tray body made offlexible material adapted to hold liquid and having transversecorrugations extending from the bottom a substantial distance toward thetop and constituting transverse webs, a removable longitudinal divisionmember spanning said transverse webs, and a leverage mechanism adaptedto exert reactive forces between said tray body and. said divisionmember.

4-. Apparatus for producing ice pieces including a tray body adapted tohold liquid having transverse corrugations extending a substantialdistance toward the top and constituting transverse webs, abremovablelongitudinal division member spanning said transverse webs, forceapplying means adapted to act between one end of said tray body and saiddivision member, and some of the walls of said webs being curved onradii centered at the other end of said tray body.

5. Apparatus for producing ice pieces including a tray body adapted tohold liquid and having transverse corrugations extending from the bottoma substantial distance toward the top of the tray body. and constitutingtransverse webs, a removable longitudinal division member span.- ningsaid transverse webs having a top reinforcement piece, and means forexerting force between said reinforcement piece and said tray body.

6. A grid for ice freezing apparatus including an upper reinforcementpiece and depending parts, and pivoted leverage mechanism for exertingforce against said reinforcement piece.

7, Apparatus for producing ice pieces including a, tray body adapted tohold liquid having transverse corrugations extending substantially ,thefull height of the tray body and open at the bottom and sides, and aremovable longitudinal division member spanning said transversecormgations and having separating pieces extending downwardly betweensaid corrugations.

8. Apparatus for freezing ice cubes including a tray body, a grid, andmeans to pivot the grid about a given part of the tray body, said gridand tray body having surfaces on radii centered at said given part tofacilitate removal of ice with the grid on turning the grid about saidgiven part.

9.=An ice tray body having transverse corrugations, walls of saidcorrugations being formed on different radii.

10. An ic tray body having transverse corrugations at diiferentdistances from one end of/ across the tray body, a movable grid member00- operating with said partitions to form ice molds, said partitionsincluding double walls movable relative to each other so that thepartitions may be flexed, and means for raising the movable grid memberfor removing the ice cubes from the tray body.

12. Apparatus for producing ice pieces including a tray body, spacedpartitions extending across said tray body, a movable grid member in thetray body and cooperating with the spaced partitions to form ice cubemolds, and means for raising one end of the movable grid member so thatthe movable grid member will be tilted at an angle to the bottom of thetray body for causing flexing of the spaced partitions to facilitateremoval of the ice cubes.

13. Apparatus for producing ice pieces including a tray body, spacedflexible partitions extending across said tray body, a movable gridmember in the tray body and cooperating with the spaced partitions toform ice cube molds, and means for raising one end of the movable gridmember so that the movable grid, member will be tilted at an angle tothe bottom of the tray body for causing flexing of the spaced partitionsto facilitate removal of the ice cubes.

14. Apparatus for producing ice pieces including a tray body, spacedpartitions extending across said tray body, said partitions includingdouble walls movable relative to each other, a movable grid member inthe tray body and cooperating with the spaced partitions to form icecube' molds, and means for raising one end of the movable grid member sothat the movable grid member will be tilted at an angle to the bottom ofthe tray body for causing flexing of the spaced partitions to facilitateremoval of the ic cubes.

15. Apparatus for producing ice pieces including a tray body, spacedpartitions extending titions to form ice cube molds, and means forraising one end of the movable grid member so that the movable gridmember will be tilted at an angle to the bottom of the tray body-forcausing flexing of the spaced partitions to facilitate removal of theice cubes.

16. The combination with an ice tray body adapted to be supported on ahorizontal surface and hold liquid and a handle attached to said traybody, of a lifting member horizontally journailed partly in said handleand partly in said tray body and having a finger piece separate from andin front of said handle and a projection behind said handle, saidprojection being movable to extend below the bottom of the tray body onrotating said finger piece.

17. Apparatus for producing ice pieces comprising a tray body adapted tohold liquid, 9. front are inserted upwardly, said tray having adepending portion behind said handle, said handle and depending portionhaving aligned apetures for journalling a member transversely to thecover plate, and a rotary member comprising a. round bar extendingthrough said apertures and bent adjacent the depending projection toform an arm and having a finger piece forward of said handle andextending on opposite sides of the axis of the rotary member, saidfinger piece being movable from horizontal position to vertical positionwith respect to the tray when resting on a horizontal surface, and saidarm being entirely above the bottom of the tray when the finger piece ishorizontal and projecting below the bottom of the tray when the fingerpiece is vertical.

18. Apparatus for. forming ice pieces including a tray body adapted tohold liquid, a. plate attached to said tray body and spaced therefrom, arotatable rod journalled in said plate and body, and means to rotatesaidrod, said rod having a bent portion adapted to extend below thebottom of the tray on rotation of the rod.

19. Apparatus as set forth in claim 18 in which the tray body has aprojection providing a journal for the rotatable rod.

20. Apparatus as set forth in claim 18' in which the tray body is formedwith an indentation to provide a journal for the rotatable rod.

21. Apparatus as set forth in claim 18 in which the plate is shaped'toprovide a handle and the rotatable rod is journalled in the handle.

22. Apparatus as set forth in claim 18 in which I the rotatable rod hasoppositely extending bent parts.

23. Apparatus as set forth in claim 18 in which the rotatable rod isprovided with a finger piece outside the plate.

24. Apparatus for producing ice pieces including a tray body havingfixed internal transverse members defining a plurality of compartments,

said members being tapered upwardly in cross section, a longitudinalvertically movable member extending transversely of said fixed membersand having portions in said compartments substantially centrallythereof, and force multiplying means for exerting force between thereceptacle and the longitudinal member.

25. Apparatus for producing ice pieces including a tray body havingfixed internal transverse

